Buddies
by Androclez
Summary: What would Sonic do without his little buddy Tails? It's an irreplaceable bond of friendship, right? Everything falls apart when he's away. Random insanity ensues in this dysfunctional interpretation of Sonic & Tails' relationship and world.
1. Chapter 1

Buddies  
by Androclez

Disclaimer: Sonic the Hedgehog and all related characters and media are the property of Sega/Sonic Team.

**Author's Note: I originally wrote this fanfiction as a fully**** illustrated fan comic back in 1995 when I was twelve years old. This is old-time stuff. None of the newer characters will be present. It's based somewhere in between the SatAM world and the video games of that period; especially Sonic 3 & Knuckles and Triple Trouble. There's also a bit of the Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog (my personal favorite) in here.**

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Chapter 1

_It's a typical day in the life of Sonic the Hedgehog. Sonic is taking a joy-run through some random zone at supersonic speeds. The juice is flowing freely and it's feeling good. Far behind, a voice can be faintly heard calling out to him. Through the thick cloud of dust in Sonic's wake we can make out a familiar figure._

(cough cough) "Slow down Sonic!" (cough), Tails sputtered.

_Sonic is so caught up in the thrill of his run that he doesn't seem to notice his little buddy's plea._

"Sonic! Soooo-niiiic! Wait for me!" the fox boy cried.

"Huh? Is that Tails?" Sonic wondered. "What does he want now?"

"Slow down a little Sonic! I can't keep up!" Tails pleaded.

_Sonic begrudgingly consents._

"Ugh! Alright Tails, I'm slowin' down," Sonic moaned impatiently.

(huff huff), Tails chugged along.

(yawn) "C'mon 'lil bro, catch up already!" Sonic called back to him.

"I'm trying Sonic! Nobody's as fast as you," Tails replied.

"Yo Tails! Look! It's one of those giant loop-de-loops!" (like from the early games), Sonic exclaimed.

_With an extra burst of speed, Sonic zooms through the loop-de-loop effortlessly. Tails gazes at the giant structure warily, unsure if he can duplicate Sonic's gravity defying stunt. But he decides to give it a go anyway. Kicking his feet up, he dashes forth as best he can... but his efforts prove to be insufficient!_

CRASH!

_Unable to raise up enough speed to traverse the obstacle, Tails crashes face-first right into a wall of the loop-de-loop! Then he falls down right on his two furry booties._

"Ha, ha, haaa! Hee hee he, ho Oh man! What a slow-mo!" Sonic howled with laughter. "That Tails is always crackin' me up! It's times like this that remind me of why I even keep him around!"

"Fortunately nothing serious ever happens," said Sonic. "The little klutz never _REALLY_ gets hurt. That way he survives on to the next laugh!" he chuckled.

_Immediately the material of the loop-de-loop started to crack apart from the impact of Tails' crash. The structure completely collapses right on top of Tails!_

"Haaww haw haw-! Wha-?! Wait a minute!" said Sonic, suddenly. "Tails might really be... (gulp) ...dead!"

To Be Continued

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**Shocked? Outraged? Offended? Amused? Intrigued? Either way, please review the story. I'll post more chapters as I transcribe them from my old homemade comic books.**


	2. Chapter 2

**Thanks to Kitsune Prower for being the first to review!**

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Chapter 2

_Snapping to his senses, Sonic quickly runs over to the wreckage of the loop-de-loop that has just collapsed on top of Tails._

"Tails, are you okay?!" Sonic shouted. "Tails??"

_Sonic lifts a big piece of the wreckage and looks underneath. He's shocked to see how badly his comically clumsy companion is really hurt._

"Ta- Tails?! Is that blood?" he gasped. "Aw no! This wasn't supposed to happen!"

"It- It's okay Sonic..." Tails groaned. "Ju- just help me up and..."

BOOM! _In a panic, Sonic dropped the huge piece of rubble back on top of Tails; unable to face the harsh reality of what happened to his little buddy._

"Hey!" Tails yelled. "What are you- Oomph!"

"Ahh! What do I do?!" Sonic screamed. "Panic! Disaster! Help! Gotta rush back home! Rush home to knothole! Yes, that's it! I'll go to Knothole Village!"

_Sonic jets back to the village where he finds the insufferable soldier, Antoine D'Coolette standing guard at the entrance._

"Hold eet!" said Antoine, in his exaggerated accent. "You must 'ave zee proof you are reely Sonic ze hoghedge before I let you through!"

"Get outta my way 'Twan, and don't ever get in my way again!" Sonic rudely snapped at Antoine, as he pushed his way past him.

"Hmm. Zat ees Sonic all right!" decided Antoine.

_Sonic goes rushing through the village looking for someone he can confide in about the horrible accident that occurred. He zips right by Rotor, accidentally running over his feet in the process._

"Ow!" Rotor yelped.

_Sonic puts on the brakes._

"Sorry Rotor." Sonic quickly apologized. "Listen, I have something to tell you."

"Yeah, what is it?" asked Rotor.

"You see," said Sonic, hesitantly. "Tails is..."

"Go on." said Rotor.

"Look, Tails ran into a loop-de-loop it broke and fell on top of him before I could do anything about it and none of this is my fault at all! Okay?!" Sonic blurted out.

"I dunno Sonic. Sounds like you really screwed up big this time." said Rotor. "Sally is gonna be MAJORLY ticked when she hears about this!"

_Sally happened to be within earshot the entire time._

"Did I hear right?! Why on Mobius did you let Tails attempt such a dangerous stunt in the first place?!" she demanded. "It's this kind of foolish, irresponsible behavior-"

"I can't take this anymore!" interrupted Sonic. "I'm outta here!"

_Sensing that Sally was about to go into one of her long, boring speeches about responsibility, Sonic took off in the opposite direction. He began thinking to himself..._

"So Tails is really gone," Sonic reflected. "It won't be the same around here without somebody to pick on," he sighed. "Maybe I just won't be a Freedom Fighter anymore."

_Sonic thinks on the whole matter a little further and comes to a conclusion._

"Yeah. Yeah, that's it! I know exactly where I need to go!" Sonic proclaimed. "I'll take a stop off somewhere that I shoulda been in the first place."

_After traveling for a while, Sonic finally arrives at his destination._

"I'm here," Sonic announced to himself. "Robotropolis!"

_What?! Is Sonic really switching sides on us?! Or does he have some other trick up his sleeve to prove he can be responsible? Find out next time on Buddies._

TBC

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**Please review the story. Flames are okay, as long as they're in good humor.**


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: Thanks to Eric Neo Matrix for your review, and for drawing a formatting error to my attention. Also thanks to jockeygurl15 for your review. **

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Chapter 3

_There's a special VIP guest in Robotropolis tonight. Sonic has quit the Freedom Fighters and now stands directly in the chambers of the 'head egg' himself._

"Dr. Robotnic. I give up!" announced Sonic.

"Well, well, well. This certainly is a welcome surprise", said Robotnik, with a boastful grin. "What brought on this sudden call to your senses?"

"Forget the small talk!" snapped Sonic. "Let's get down to business. I trade you the Freedom Fighter's secrets if you cut me in on this whole world domination deal."

"Very well," agreed Robotnik. "Tell me everything you know."

_Sonic went on to elaborate for some time about the Freedom Fighters' weaknesses and strengths. He explained the techniques they used to thwart Robotnik's plans in the past. Finally he came to the juiciest detail: the location of the secret entrance to Knothole Village!_

"So yeah as I was saying, there's this doofus with a bad toupee standing near the entrance," explained Sonic, as he rolled his eyes. "He's such a coward! If he doesn't just run at the first sight of an enemy all you gotta do is blast him!"

_Sonic seemed to especially enjoy divulging that particular detail. He continued..._

"From there, you just –"

"Arrghh!"  
_Sonic was suddenly interrupted by the sound of a horrific scream._

"Huh?" Sonic wondered out loud. "That noise..."

_Sonic looked behind him to see an animal who had just been put into the roboticizor. It was a familiar face._

"Arlo?" said Sonic, with slight surprise.

"Traitor! Traitooooorrrr! Aaaaarrrgghh!" screamed Arlo.

"Hmph! Sally's armadillo flunky. I heard he got captured on a recent mission," recalled Sonic. "Ha! And that wannabe Dylan is next up for the treatment," he laughed, noticing the porcupine. "What losers!"

"Aaaaahhhhhh! How could you Sonic?!" yelled Dylan, as the machine transformed him.

_Sonic continued to talk over their screams._

"As I was saying," he went on, "you can just lend me some robo muscle for backup, and _**I'll**_ lead the mission to Knothole Village. You'll get the exact info on the secret entrance _**after**_ I see some dividends from our little merger," said Sonic, with a sly grin. "Can't divulge the top secret up-front, now can I?"

Whrrrrr!  
_The roboticized Dylan and Arlo come charging towards Sonic for the kill!_

"Whoa! Hey, what gives?!" said Sonic.

_From the opposite direction, a laser blast comes screeching right past Sonic, barely missing him. It hits Dylan, and then another beam quickly strikes Arlo; destroying them both._

"Whew! That was a close one," Sonic sighed. "You simply _**must**_ reprogram your bots Doc!"

"It'll be taken care of," said Robotnik. "In the meantime, I have a suitable robot to accompany you on this mission... The Metal Sonic!"

_Metal Sonic enters the scene._

"Now I will finally crush you for good!" snarled Metal.

"I don't think so!" retorted Sonic.

Scrrrrrreeee!  
_Sonic launches into a spin dash and rams into Metal.  
_POW!

"Argh!" Metal grunts from the blow, as he tumbles backward. "Why you –!"

"Wait!" yells Robotnik. "You two are to be partners! Go to Knothole with Sonic. He's with us now."

"?! ...As you command...," said Metal.

Later:

_Sonic and Metal Sonic have made their way to the Great Forest, and are now confronting the "fearless" guardsman._

"I reely should not let you into ze Knothole," said Antoine, timidly.

" '_**Let**_ us in?" scoffed Sonic. "We weren't askin' for you to 'let' us in. We asked you if you wanted to live!"

"Are you suggesting that we couldn't just pound you into the dirt right where you stand?!" asked Metal, menacingly.

"Eeep!" shrieked Antoine. "Yes sir! I mean no sir! Right thees way sir!"

"Thank you Antoine, but I know the way," said Sonic, with mock sincerity. "After all, I'm Sonic the Hedgehog!"

_As the devious duo travel further into the Great Forest towards the outskirts of Knothole, Sonic decides to break the awkward silence with a little small talk._

"What's on your mind Metal?" asked Sonic. "...I guess that's kind of a silly question to ask a robot, eh?"

"I have a mind!" Metal shot back. "I'm the most advanced of the Doctor's creations, with state of the art A.I."

"Okay, okay, whatever," replied Sonic, not really interested.

"I was just wondering if this place is booby trapped?" Metal continued. "They may have increased their security if they suspected that you turned on them."

"Don't worry Metalhead. We can get through anything they can throw at us!" said Sonic, cockily. "I got the speed, I got the power, brains, and the good looks! And you've got a little speed yerself, so at least you won't slow me down too much."

"Why you insolent little –!"

WHAP!  
_Metal Sonic gives mammal Sonic a good smack, knocking him onto a nearby stump._

"Umph!" Sonic grunted.

"Ha! I knew I was tougher, you pathetic pincushion!" Metal proudly declared.

"We'll see about that!" replied Sonic.

_Sonic stands up to retaliate but as he begins to rev up his feet, the top of the stump opens up beneath him!_

"Woah! My footing!" yelped Sonic.

"Sonic?! Hmm, looks like I'll have to go in after him," sighed Metal.

_Metal Sonic flies in after him._

"Sonic! What is your status?" inquired Metal, as they both whooshed down an underground tunnel.

"Wheeeee!" cried Sonic, gleefully. "Don't sweat it! It's just the secret tunnel to Knothole village. I almost forgot it was right through that stump."

"Some guide you are," complained Metal.

_As Sonic tumbles out of the other end of the tunnel, he sees a stern face staring down at him._

"Uh oh. Just in time to meet the angry princess," grumbled Sonic.

"You are in deep trouble mister!" scolds Sally. "You've got a lot of explaining –"

POW!  
_Metal Sonic bursts out of the tunnel and flies fist-first into Sally._

"Ouch!" cried Sally.

_While she's lying on the ground, Metal starts to channel electric shocks into her body!_

ZAP!

"Aaahhh!" screamed Sally.

_Suddenly Sonic springs into action! He turns against Metal Sonic, hitting him with a supersonic jump kick, nearly detaching his head!_

WHAP!

"Grrrr! Why'd you do that?!" growled Metal.

"Because she's a Freedom Fighter, you lousy bucket of bolts!" replied Sonic, heroically. "Did you really think I'd just stand by and let you kill her?!"

_Sonic grabs hold of the still-dazed Metal Sonic and manually turns on Metal's jet booster, sending him flying right into a wall! _

CRASH!

_From there, Metal lands into a nearby garbage can, and Sonic quickly rushes over to fasten the lid onto it._

"That's how you take out the trash!" declared Sonic, in his old bravado.

_Sally moans a bit, and looks up at her savior._

"Sonic. You haven't betrayed us after all," said Sally, brightening. "You're a hero!"

_Meanwhile, Metal Sonic's jet booster is still jammed and he can't seem to turn it off. Things are really starting to heat up inside his trash can prison._

"Arrggh! I'm melting! You're evil Sonic!" howled Metal. "...Wait a minute. The trash can is melting faster than I am," he suddenly realizes. "Soon I'll be able to bust out of here!"

BOOM!

_Metal Sonic comes bursting out of the liquifying trash can. He turns off his jet booster and turns his cooling unit on to stop himself from melting._

"SONIC! You will pay for this!" he yelled.

"Take it easy pal, I'm still on your side!" said Sonic, cowering. "I was only trying to tell you that Robotnik might want to take the Freedom Fighters alive as prisoners. Especially Princess Sally."

"Oh is that so?!" replied Metal, in disbelief. "You sure have a funny way of communicating! You tried to kill me!"

"It was just a, er... reflex! That's all. Hehe..." chuckled Sonic, nervously.

"From now on, I'm calling the shots!" said Metal. "I won't need your help to exterminate these weaklings now that I know where they live! So stay out of my way you repulsive rodent!"

"Does this mean we won't be buddies?" mumbled Sonic.

"Tie up the squirrel while I hunt down the rest," demanded Metal, ignoring Sonic's question.

"Hey, wait for me!" Sonic called after him.

"This is treason Sonic. I'll have your head for this!" threatened Sally.

"Relax Sal. This is all part of my plan," said Sonic.

"Really?" asked Sally.

"Yeah. Once I take you back to Robotropolis as my prisoner, _**I'll**_ be the one bossing _**you**_ around for a change! Haha ha haaaa! Nice plan huh? You'll be my slave for life!" laughed Sonic.

"Grrr! Sonic, you conniving, blue b–!"

"–Sorry Sal, gotta juice!" Sonic cut her off, midsentence.

VROOM!  
_Sonic left Sally behind, tied up._

"Sonic!" So-niiiiiiiiiiiiic!" Sally called after him, angrily.

Then:

_Sonic caught up to Metal, and they're standing in front of the Freedom Fighters' central meeting hut._

WHAM!  
_Sonic kicks the door in._

"Good mornin' Freedom Fighters!" said Sonic. "Guess wh–"

"Never mind the comical entrance!" interrupted Metal.

_Metal immediately proceeded to throw giant waves of electricity at his first target: Bunnie Rabbot._

ZAP!

"Uuuurrrgghh!" screamed Bunnie, as she passed out.

"Hmm, now where is Rotor?" wondered Sonic.

_Sonic smiled deviously while scanning the room for the rotund Walrus. Then suddenly..._

"Eat bomb, Metal!" yelled Rotor.

_Rotor jumped out of nowhere and hurled an anti-robot bomb directly into that hole in Metal Sonic's belly._

"It's- (click! Whrrrrh!) -interfering with my circuitry" said Metal. "(bzzzzz!) got to get it out."

_A somewhat delirious Metal Sonic reaches inside himself, feeling around for the bomb._

"Aha!" Metal exclaimed. "I think I got it!"

KABOOM!

_The bomb blew up in his hand before he could remove it. Metal Sonic fried and charred, and then he crumbled apart into a pile of ash on the floor, like Starscream did in the original 1986 Transformers Movie._

_Rotor just stood there with his mouth gaping open in amazement at his own feat._

"I took down the Metal Sonic!" exclaimed Rotor.

TBC

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**This was certainly an eventful day for Sonic and company, to say the least! Let me know what you think if you'd like to review. Thanks again everyone.**


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: Thanks to Kitsune Prower, Angelus-alvus, and everyone else who has reviewed.**

**WARNING: This chapter contains some violence.**

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Chapter 4

_Sonic had come to subdue and destroy the Freedom Fighters, but things took an unexpected turn when Rotor defeated the Metal Sonic for good. Bunnie just woke up from an earlier injury, and she's more than a little cranky. Antoine has also just arrived on the scene, and he's not too happy either._

"Now guys, I know you're upset but let me explain!" pleaded Sonic. "This was all just... a joke! Yeah, that's it! Gotcha, didn't I?

_The Freedom Fighters inch closer towards Sonic. They're not buying Sonic's lame story._

"It was all a joke," Sonic continues. "so there's no need for anybody to get a butt whoopin' today, right? ...Um, guys? Where'd you get those clubs and chains fro– AHH!"

_Now a big cloud of dust can be seen in the middle of the hut as fists fly, and Sonic is being pounded into the dirt floor by his former friends!_

"Take this!"

WHAM! _Bunnie knocks him over the head._

"And zat!"

WACK! _Antoine gets a lick in._

"I'm on a roll today!"

POW! _Rotor lets him have it._

_A hidden onlooker peeks from around the corner to observe the beating._

"They're really messin' him up in there!" said Nack. "I can't watch this."

_Nack the Weasel! What's he doing here? At the moment, he's hiding an item in a crate that Sonic is about to be thrown into. He does it without being seen._

CRASH!

_Sonic is hurled into the crate! But the Freedom Fighters aren't done with him yet! Bunnie, Rotor and Antoine are all shouting at once:_

"Come out–..."

"...–and fight–..."

"...–zoward!"

"Okay, you asked for it!" Sonic called out from inside the crate.

_Sonic leaps up from the crate with a giant gun in his hand!_

"Sur-prise!" said Sonic, with a big grin.

ZAP!

_They jump out of the way of the blast just in time!_

"Ah!"

"Whoa!"

"Zeek!"

_They all scream and run for their lives._

"Good thing that gun just happened to be in the crate they threw me in," said Sonic. "I wonder who put that in there?"

"It was me: Nack the Weasel!"

"Yikes!" yelped Sonic. "You startled me."

"I'm the one who you owe your life to," said Nack.

"Why'd you help me?" asked Sonic. "I was just about to wipe the floor with those guys."

"Ha! You came up in here acting all tough with yer bad-boy robot, and the two of you couldn't even handle these wimps!" said Nack. "I had to save you 'cuz I couldn't stand to see such a pathetic failure!"

"What do you want from me anyway?" Sonic demanded.

"I need a hand with a job I'm planning" explained Nack. "If you help me out I'll find us some real power, and we can both get pumped up buddy!"

"Buddy?" said Sonic, warming up to the idea. "Sure, I'll help ya out buddy. And I know just where we can get some more backup."

"No way! We can't bring Robotnik in on this!" insisted Nack.

"Why not?" asked Sonic.

"Simple: 'cuz I don't want to!" said Nack. "Mission begins day after tomorrow. Meet me at the location on this piece of paper. In the meantime, I have to go and get me prepared," chuckled Nack.

"Deal," agreed Sonic. "Catch ya later Nack."

_Nack leaves._

"I guess I'll take this job with Nack," thought Sonic. "...but first I'll stop off at Robotropolis," he decided.

Later: in Robotnik's chambers

"Hey. What up, Eggman?" greets Sonic.

_Robotnik angrily grabs hold of him!_

"Whoa! Ungh! What's the prob?" grunts Sonic.

"Let me explain this simply for you hedgehog!" snapped Robotnik. "Metal Sonic has been destroyed. I hate that! Come up with something to make me happy _**or else**_"

"Chill out! I've got a tip on a job that might interest you," replied Sonic, calmly. "But you gotta lay low for now."

_Robotnik finally releases his grasp on Sonic._

"This had better be good!" said Robotnik.

Later; on the day of the mission

"Here I am," Sonic said to himself. "This is the address Nack gave me to meet up with him. ...Wait a sec! It's a bar?"

_Sonic goes in and finds Nack sprawled out on a table; drunk._

"(hiccup!) hey lil' buddy! whadsup?" sputtered Nack.

"What the–?! I thought you'd be training for the mission or getting new supplies!" yelled Sonic.

"I got 'prepared'," said Nack. "(hic!) Let's go!"

_Sonic manages to fire up the old bi-plane and flies to the location indicated on Nack's treasure map. Following the directions, he eventually crash-lands on a mysterious, Floating Island _(**in this story, Sonic has never been there before**)_. Sonic drags Nack around the island, trying to find the treasure cave listed on their map._

"If I had known you do all your missions intoxicated, I would've never agreed to this!" complained Sonic. "You're just dead weight!"

"Whu?" groaned Nack. "Hm mmm" he grunted.

_As they're running along, the barely conscious Nack's foot accidentally uncovers a secret switch, hidden under a fake grass covering._

"A switch!" Sonic exclaimed.

_Sonic hits the switch, which moves a rock wall, revealing a dark passage into a deep cave._

"Wake up Nack!" said Sonic. "I found a secret passage!"

"Ugh, help me up, you BLEEP! BLEEP!" muttered Nack.

A little later...

_After traveling through the cave, Sonic & Nack reach a sparkling chamber full of huge gems._

"Yes! The Chaos Chamber!" exclaimed Nack, rejuvinated by the presence of treasure.

"Wow! I've never seen anything like this before," said Sonic. "They must be worth a fortune!"

"Not just that," said Nack. "With these emeralds I..."

"Nack! Look out!" screamed Sonic.

"Huh?"

_Nack quickly glances behind himself and sees a huge ax falling down towards him!_

"Nooooo!" he screams

"Run Nack! Run!" yelled Sonic.

CHOP!

"?!hgghffgllauff! Uuuuurrrrrrgggghhhhh..."

_Nack was slashed right in the head by the ax, and he let out a distorted groan. Sonic looked up near the high ceiling, at the echidna statues that lined the side of each shadowy wall._

"It looked like the ax fell from somewhere up there!" Sonic thought out loud. "...did one of those statues move?!" he wondered. "I don't think I wanna be here anymore!"

_Sonic walks towards the exit tunnel. There's a shadowy figure amongst the echidna statues that follows him from above..._

"Darn! He's about to get away," whispered the shadowy figure.

"Forget the treasure!" said Sonic. "Robotnik can come get it if he wants to. I'm getting outta here!"

"Not so fast Blue Boy," thought the shadowy figure. "Umph!"

_The Shadowy Figure shoves a huge stone down where Sonic is standing! It's headed right towards him...!_

"On second thought, there's something I'd better do before I leave," Sonic said to himself, as he dashed back to the chaos chamber.

_ZOOM!_

**CRASH!**

_The stone just barely missed Sonic! Although he never even noticed it._

"Hm?! This guy is fast!" said the shadowy figure.

_Sonic stands over the body of his fallen comrade Nack the Weasel. Perhaps Sonic intends to take the corpse with him, to give Nack a proper burial._

"Let's see what we got here," said Sonic, examining the gory scene.

_Sonic looks down at the body with disgruntled indifference. The ax is still on top of Nack's head. Blood oozes out from under his famous Stetson hat._

"Such a nice hat..." said Sonic. "...it'd be a waste to leave it behind on this ol' carcass!"

_Sonic removed the hat, ignoring the broken metal plate that fell out of it, as he picked it up and tried it on._

"Cool! The slice from the ax made an opening for my quill to go through. It's a perfect fit!" said Sonic. "The belt, gloves and boots look pretty good too. Better take 'em home and wash the weasel germs off of 'em."

_Oh no he didn't! This mug just stole a dead man's clothes right off his back! That's pretty low-class Sonic._

"Better get goin'!" Sonic decided.

ZOOM!

_The shadowy figure notices that Sonic is on the move again._

"Nobody trespasses onto the Floating Island and gets away with it!" declared the shadowy figure. "I'll hunt him down for sure. Or my name isn't–"

_He steps out of the shadows..._

"–Knuckles the Echidna!"

_(Big surprise.)_

TBC

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**I've always loved the classic Sonic VS Knuckles conflicts. The more senseless, the better. Things will intensify in the next chapter.**


	5. Chapter 5

**And now, the epic conclusion!  
WARNING: The violence intensifies a bit in this chapter.**

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Chapter 5

_Sonic has escaped Knuckles' trap in the Chaos Chamber, but the overzealous guardian is still looking to hunt him down. On top of that, Sonic sees some more trouble on the horizon. Robotnik and his baddies have shown up on the Floating Island!_

"Uh oh. Robotnik's not gonna be too pleased about the way the mission turned out. I'm empty handed!" said Sonic.

"There you are Sonic!" yelled Robotnik. "Trying to sneak off without reporting back to me? It's time I finished you off once and for all!" he decided. "Attack!" he called out to his badniks.

_A "blastoid" badnik targets Sonic in it's scope and fires. Sonic dodges just in time. The blast narrowly misses him, and blows a huge chunk off of an ancient ruin of the echidna civilization._

"Oh well. At least they were already 'ruins'," joked Sonic.

_A technosqueak scurries in front of Sonic as a penguinator approaches him from behind._

"A technosqueak? You call this a badnik?!" Sonic taunted. "I can think of a better use for it."

_Sonic picks the technosqeak up by the tail and slams it over the penguinator's head; crushing both._

"Ha! It works better as a nunchuck," laughed Sonic.

_As Sonic continues his scuffle with the badniks, Knuckles takes notice of the commotion from a nearby mountaintop._

"Hey, somebody is trashing my island!" he growled. "And there's the guy I saw messing with the emeralds earlier! I want him!"

_Inconceivably, Knuckles is able to use his dreadlocks to glide towards the battlefield—yes, that's right; HIS HAIR. Meanwhile Sonic chops down a majestic tree with a triple spin, causing it to land on top of a caterkiller and crush it!_

"How dare you desecrate my people's ancient ruins!" yells Knuckles. "And now you're destroying the Floating Island's flora as well?! You must die for your crimes!"

POW!

_Knuckles strikes Sonic with a powerful gliding punch as he swoops down for a landing._

WHAM!  
_He hit Sonic again._

"Take that you filthy piece of blue scum!"

_Next, Knuckles uses his special move (__**in my stories, Knuckles can morph his hands into different weapons**__). He clasps his hands together and morphs both fists into a giant ramming piston covered with spikes and rams it right into Sonic at full force! The force of the blow propels Sonic into the air; nearly knocking him out._

"Listen up everyone! I want all of you trespassers off of my island right now!" announced Knuckles. "Or else you'll wind up like this loser over here," he added, pointing to Sonic.

_While Sonic is lying on the ground, the wind blows a piece of paper from his possessions. It floats through the air and Robotnik flies over in his eggomatic to snatch it up._

"Hm? What's this, a map?" wondered Robotnik.

"I'll show you what happens to interlopers on this island," said Knuckles. "Time to make an example out of the blue guy."

"Sonic, you're hurt!" called a familiar voice.

"Huh? Who's that?" Knuckles wondered.

_Knuckles looks up to see where the voice came from. Some kind of weird looking fox creature with two tails, floating in the sky!_

"Tails! You're okay!" said Sonic.

"Rotor went and got me from under that rubble!" Tails explained. "I've been healing up for the past few days, and now I'm coming to the rescue!

_While Tails was running his mouth, he didn't notice a "Blaster" badnik was taking aim at him... It fired!_

BANG!

"Ow!" cried Tails.

_Tails fell out of the sky in a dusty crash landing._

"Umph!" he grunted, as he hit the ground.

_While Knuckles was still distracted by the commotion of Tails entering the scene, Sonic revved up a spin dash and quickly shot towards Knuckles!_

"Wha-? Arrggh!" screamed Knuckles.

_Sonic ripped a big cut across Knuckles' chest! Then while Knuckles was down, Sonic geared up to deliver the fatal strike..._

"Now, to finish the job! Ha ha!" laughed Sonic.

"Noooo!" cried Tails.

_Just before Sonic came in for the kill, Tails swooped Knuckles out of the way just in time!_

"Whew! That was close," sighed Tails.

_Knuckles stirs back to his senses._

"What hit me?" he groaned.

_Knuckles notices Tails standing next to him._

"Now I think I remember! I had another little intruder here," said Knuckles. "Watch this!" he said to Tails.

"Huh??" wondered Tails.

_Knuckles' fist morphs into a giant spike ball._

"What the-?!" started Tails.

"Mmwah ha haa! Knuckles gonna **kill** ya little guy!" laughed Knuckles. "You're goin' to the next planet kid! Ha ha haaaa!"

_Knuckles rears back to thrust his ultra heavy fist into a powerful blow. But just as he comes in for the strike, Tails dodges and Knuckles hits an innocent passerby instead!_

Ka-**BOOM**!

"Aaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhh!" cried the passerby.

"Charmy Bee? Whoops! Guess he's dead now," said Knuckles, a little too casually.

_Charmy was knocked all the way into the clouds._

"Wait Knuckles!" pleaded Tails. "Sonic and I are here to help you take out these badniks! Robotnik is the bad guy! ...huh? Where'd Robotnik go anyway?"

"Nevermind that!" yelled Sonic. "I could use a hand over here!"

_Sonic was battling against a bunch of badniks. He was surrounded by a Clamer, a Star Pointer, and a Skorp, while a Bloominator was shooting spike balls at him._

"Okay. If you guys help me get rid of these mechanical monsters, I'll think about letting you off the hook," said Knuckles.

_Fighting together as a team, Sonic, Tails and Knuckles were more than a match for the badniks. They wiped the last of them out._

"Nice work guys!" said Sonic. "Now let's–"

KRRRRRRRR-SWOOSH  
_The whole island began to shake violently!_

"Whoa! What's going on?!" yelled Sonic.

"The island is falling!" Knuckles exclaimed. "Someone must be messin' with the master emerald! Don't worry though. We'll simply splash safely into the water below. Let's go check the chaos chamber."

"Um, guys... Where's the water?!" screamed Tails.

_They looked below the island and there was nothing but a dry pit with a hole in the middle of it. It looked like someone pulled the plug out of the drain and let all the water out! (__**Don't ask how.**_

"AAAHHH!" screamed Knuckles.

"Relax Knuckles! Everything's gonna be O.K." Sonic assured.

"No it's not!" Knuckles shot back. "We're gonna die! There's no water! Don't you get it?! Water is the way we survive but there **is** **no water**!"

_Knuckles grabs hold of Sonic and points his head over the edge of the island._

"See that? _**NOWATER!**_" shrieked Knuckles. "We're all gonna splatter right down there!"

"Calm down man! How much time before we hit the bottom?" asked Sonic.

"It should take 13 more minutes. But the Chaos Chamber is way too far for us to get there in time!" said Knuckles.

_A timer reading "13:00" minutes appears in the corner of the "screen"._

"Hmm... 13 minutes, eh? Not a lot of time," said Sonic.

_Sonic just stood there, trying to look pensive._

"You're saying you can't do it?!" asked Knuckles.

"Nah, I'm just messin' with ya!" Sonic chuckled.

"We don't have times for games Sonic!" shouted Knuckles. "How're you going to get us there?!"

"Chill man. I got this," said Sonic. "In case you haven't noticed, I'm pretty fast!"

_Sonic revs up faster than ever, grabs hold of Knuckles and Tails, and takes off in a blue blur!_

_**WHOOSH!**_

_They're back at the chaos chamber within seconds._

SCRRREECH!

_Sonic came to a sudden stop. There's a big barrier of rocks blocking the pathway to the tunnel._

"Now that was fast!" said Knuckles. "Whoa, I'm dizzy! Why'd you stop anyway?"

"It's just a little ol' rock barrier," said Sonic.

_Sonic started to recline on the barrier nonchalantly._

"I could take this out no prob," Sonic bragged.

"Well don't just stand there. Do it!" Knuckles demanded.

"Don't sweat it. Something like this is nothing to a world class superhero like me," said Sonic.

"Well whatever you do, do it _quickly_ you crazy buffoon!" shouted Knuckles.

"Take it easy island boy!" replied Sonic. "I'll show you how it's done. A Supersonic Spin should do the trick."

"Alright, alright! Do your sonic spin thing," said Knuckles.

"Correction. That's '**SUPER**SONIC SPIN'," said Sonic. "The one and only. No other move can match it's speed, power, and beauty."

"This is ridiculous!" Knuckles screamed. "We don't have time to listen to you brag about how great you are, you arrogant, obnoxious, little_–_!"

"Can you blame me for being a little vain?" asked Sonic. "If you had these looks and this speed..."

"SONIC! PLEASE!"

POW!

_Knuckles gave Sonic a stiff sock across the face, just to knock some sense into him._

"Have you forgotten that we're plummeting hundreds of feet to our deaths?!" asked Kmuckles. "Why are you stalling?! Why??" he desperately pleaded.

"Stalling?" asked Sonic. "You gotta be kidding! I would never rob the world of my gracefull presence by letting myself die here."

"Either do something about the barrier, or at least stand aside so I can give it a try!" Knuckles demanded. "We've got less than 8 minutes left!"

_The timer now reads '7:54'._

"Okay, watch this," said Sonic. "I'm gonna bust up that little pile of pebbles! It's UP! OVER! And_– _OUCH!"

_Sonic was deflected by the wall of rocks; not even denting it._

"How can that be?!" asked Sonic.

"Why am I not that surprised?" asked Knuckles. "You're all talk! Looks like this wall could use the old Knuckles touch!"

CRACK!

_Knuckles walked right through the barrier and it crumbled apart. He wasn't even going that fast, and it looked like his fists barely even touched the rocks (__**just like in the Sonic & Knuckles video game. Try running at a rock wall at low-speed in that game, and you'll see what I mean.**_

"There's Robotnik!" said Sonic. "C'mon Knuckles, we're the island's only ho_–_!"

ZZZZAP! ZAP! ZAP!

_Robotnik's emerald powered eggomatic made short work of Sonic & Knuckles. They were rendered unconscious with a few blasts._

A few minutes later...

_Sonic and Knuckles revive. They're laying on the ground just outside the entrance to the cave. Robotnik is nowhere in sight._

"Did... did we win?" muttered Sonic.

_Sonic looks up and sees to his dismay that the numbers counting down to their demise are still in the corner of the "screen". The timer reads 3:00 minutes._

"No... Those dreadful numbers! ...still there!" said Sonic. "Knuckles! Why didn't you do your job, you useless, red failure!?"

"Me?! Who was the one that wasted five of our precious minutes talking about how cool they are!" said Knuckles. "Now we're really doomed! You caused both of our deaths! We're going to crash and die with the island."

_Knuckles just looked at Sonic with contempt._

"No!" said Knuckles. "It won't end that way for both of us. You caused my death, but you're not going to die by your own hand. I will not allow suicide on your part! I'm **murdering** you with the time I have left! I'm **MURDERING** you Sonic!"

WHAM!

"Arrgh!" cried Sonic.

_Sonic stedies himself from the blow and revs up a spin dash._

WWWHIRRRR! ZOOM!

_He makes another tear in Knuckles' flesh on impact!_

Rrrrrip!

_Sonic immediately comes back in with a homing, bonk attack (__**Like the one from Sonic Adventure, but this was before that game**_

CHOP!  
_Once again, Sonic's quills tear into Knuckles' flesh like blades. Knuckles is bleeding from his head all the way down to his torso. He finally manages to toss Sonic off of him._

"Time to start hitting him with the hard stuff!" Knuckles thinks to himself.

_Both of Knuckles' fists morph into big spinning buzz saws._

"You thought I was hitting you before, hogboy?! Ha! I was just tapping you!" taunted Knuckles. "Now get ready to feel the power of HYPER KNUCKLES!" (_**different from hyper Knuckles of the video game**_)

_Knuckles leaps at Sonic and stabs him deep in the gut! The buzz saw starts grinding away._

GOUGE!

"Ogh!" gasped Sonic.

_Sonic's eyes widen in amazement at how much pain he's in! He leaps back and musters all his strength into a triple spin._

WRRR!

"No mercy!" growled Sonic. "None at all!"

_Sonic expends the last of his strength charging at Knuckles with all his might._

Sssslice!

"I'm not holding back! This time I'm going straight through!" yelled Sonic.

_Sonic continues pressing up against Knuckles' back in triple spin mode; trying to burrow all the way through his body._

"AAAAAAAHHHHHHH! Get offa me! Ummph!" cried Knuckles.

_Knuckles tosses Sonic off. Then he morphs his fist into a drill. ...But the countdown reaches zero!!_

...3...2...1...0...!

_But at that very moment the island screeches to a halt and starts lifting back into the air!_

"We're lifting back up into the sky!" Knuckles exclaimed. "We're saved!"

"Then get that drill out of my head!" demanded Sonic.

"Oh, sorry!" said Knuckles.

"So who finally did it?" asked Sonic. "Who saved us?!"

"I did!" Tails announced.

_Suddenly there's a reporter on the scene, putting a microphone in front of Tails' face. There's a camera guy there too._

"How did you do it?" inquired the reporter (named Laura).

"Yeah! How??" asked Sonic & Knuckles, in unison.

"Rather simply." Said Tails. "You see, I just sneaked into a compartment of Robotnik's machine, and deactivated it from there. Then I retrieved the emerald from it and returned it to it's place," explained Tails.

"Hold it!" yelled Sonic & Knuckles.

_Sonic & Knuckles push Tails out of the way and start to struggle with each other to shove their way in front of the camera._

"This is too much fame for such a youngster to handle all by himself!" claimed Sonic. "Let me take some of that credit off your hands Tails."

"But I'm not really 4 ½ you know. I'm just a few years younger than you guys!"

"Hold up!" shouted Knuckles. "**I'm** the guardian of this island. **I** should take the credit!" he insisted. "Get your two tailed butt out of here you little freak! Before I kick it out!"

_Sonic speaks into Laura's mic._

"Anyway babe, check out these injuries on me," said Sonic, showing off. "I got these in the fierce struggle between me and the big, bad villain. The little guy isn't even scratched! Who do **you** think really saved the day?"

"What about the red guy's injuries?" asked Laura.

"Um, well, let's see..." stammered Sonic. "I got it! I mean, I remember now! Knuckles foolishly tried to jump in the struggle between me and Robotnik, and he got himself hurt."

"He got hurt _**this badly**_ just by jumping into the fight??" asked Laura, in shock.

"Heck no!" shouted Knuckles. "No (BLEEP) way! I'll tell you what really happened! I was doing my job as guardian of this island, bustin' up some baddies with no trouble at all. Then the blue guy sneaks up behind me and messes me up like this!" said Knuckles. "Naturally I thought he was another villain, so I (false sniffle) did **that** to him. The poor guy. I would never normally hurt another person," said Knuckles, as he pretended to get choked up.

"Liar!" yelled Sonic.

"Backstabber!" Knuckles retorted.

POW! WHAMO! OOF! ARRGH!  
_Sonic and Knuckles enter into a cartoonish "fight-cloud" with each other._

"They could be at this for a while," Tails sighed. "Allow me to direct your attention to this video footage I managed to record of what **really** happened between Sonic & Knuckles."

_Tails shows Laura the convenient film he shot of Sonic & Knuckles' bickering and fighting._

"So you see, I'm the one who really saved the island," explained Tails. "And considering what Robotnik could have done with the emeralds' power, I suppose I really saved the world!"

"According to this film, not only are Sonic & Knuckles liars, they're also attempted murderers!" Laura exclaimed.

_Sonic & Knuckles finally stop fighting._

"Huh?!" they both said at the same time.

_Suddenly a police officer named Eddie appears with two pairs of handcuffs._

"I guess this is the part where you get rewarded for saving all of our lives, and these two maniacs get put in prison," said Eddie.

"Uh oh!" said Sonic & Knuckles.

"In that case, as my reward I want Sonic & Knuckles to **not** go to prison!" pleaded Tails.

_Sonic & Knuckles both put on a big, toothy smile of false friendliness and started to nod their heads "yes"._

"But why would you want to spare these two??" asked Laura & Eddie.

"Sonic & Knuckles helped save the day too!" said Tails. "Knuckles helped by breaking down a rock wall that I couldn't have gotten through. Sonic is the one who used his speed to get us to the wall in the first place. And they both served as distractions to Robotnik. While Robotnik's attention was on them, he didn't notice me sneaking past his defenses!"

_Laura turns towards the camera to speak to the home audience._

"There you have it folks! The real hero today is Sonic the Hedgehog, along with his little buddy Tails and his friendly nemesis Knuckles the Echidna!" said Laura.

"Hey, I never said I wanted to give up top-billing!" cried Tails.

"Sonic is once again the greatest champion of Mobius and a hero to us all!" continued Laura, ignoring Tails' objection. "He valiantly pulled this ragtag party together to save us all from certain death!"

"But, but, but I-!..." stammered Tails.

"All the more remarkable is that Sonic somehow accomplished all this in spite of some initial misunderstandings with his rival-turned-ally Knuckles, and the bumblings of his foolhardy but well intentioned young sidekick, Tails.

"Guess things are back to the status quo," Tails sighed.

"Yeah! And that's the way I wanna keep it!" said Sonic. "Now it's time for my date with that reporter cutie. How 'bout it Lisa?"

"It's Laura," she replied.

"Like it matters?!" scoffed Sonic.

"Not really," admitted Laura.

_Sonic runs off into the sunset with Laura in his arms. He seems to have gotten over his life threatening injuries. The "end-of-the-episode" jingle from __Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog__ plays, and they all lived dysfunctionally ever after._

* * *

**Author's note: That's it! Please review.  
If you enjoyed this story then don't miss the sequel, "Buddies 2". It's out now! And be sure to check out my Mega Man fanfic, "****The Age of X****".** **It's my best work.**

**Special Thanks to Kitsune Prower, Capital-C, Eric Neo Matrix, jockeygurl5, Angelus-alvus, knuckles13, Sara and MangaLover24. And thanks to CommanderCat… That's basically what I meant by "amusing flame". Keep it interesting and funny. Approach it with a sense of humor.**

**I'll update the list above, in case there are any new reviewers in the future. Thank you.**


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